Heart rate variability (HRV) refers to the changes in the length of time between consecutive heart beats during sinus rhythm and is primarily due to the interaction between the sympathetic and parasympathetic arms of the autonomic nervous system. Measurement and analysis of heart rate variability is thus a useful and non-invasive tool for assessing the status of the autonomic nervous system.
A heart beat is usually measured as the time from the peak of one R wave to the peak of the next, referred to as an RR interval. The variability of normal RR intervals (i.e., during sinus rhythm) can be determined and analyzed in several different ways in either the time domain or the frequency domain. Time domain measurements involve the computation of a statistic based upon the individual RR intervals making up an RR time series such as the standard deviation of the RR intervals in the series. Frequency domain analysis, on the other hand, employs methods such as the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) or autoregressive analysis to analyze the frequency spectrum of the variability in the RR intervals. This latter type of analysis has proven to be particularly valuable in assessing the relative activities of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in a subject. Such assessment of the state of autonomic balance would be a useful function for implantable cardiac rhythm management devices such as pacemakers and implantable cardioverter/defibrillators to perform as it could be used to modify the manner in which therapy is delivered by the device or to predict the occurrence of arrhythmias. Frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability, however, requires computational and data storage capabilities that may not be practical in present-day implantable devices.